FISH CROW Red-throated Loon Common Loon Great Egret Green Heron American Golden-Plover Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Willet Lesser Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Dunlin Long-billed Dowitcher Wilson's Snipe Bonaparte's Gull Little Gull Thayer's Gull Lesser Black-backed Gull Common Tern Forster's Tern Yellow-billed Cuckoo Red-headed Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Wood-Pewee Least Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Yellow-throated Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Common Raven Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch Veery Wood Thrush Gray Catbird Ovenbird Louisiana Waterthrush Northern Waterthrush Golden-winged Warbler Blue-winged Warbler Black-and-white Warbler Tennessee Warbler Nashville Warbler Common Yellowthroat American Redstart Cape May Warbler Northern Parula Magnolia Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Palm Warbler Prairie Warbler Yellow--rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Scarlet Tanager Rose-breasted Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Bobolink Rusty Blackbird Orchard Oriole Baltimore Oriole Evening Grosbeak
What a wild and wacky weather week here in the Hamilton Study Area. We have seen a significant migration this week starting early in the week followed by birds moving out then another grounding mid week. There is lots to report. I will throw down a few notables for the week to start us off. Our weekly FISH CROW sighting comes from Saddington Park in Mississauga last Tuesday. Willets, not common here, have been in the news this week with one being seen on the Burlington Pier last Saturday followed by a few flying throughout the day, another or same at Confederation Park and then 9 seen yesterday on a lake watch. Four Long-billed Dowitchers are present as of yesterday up on 5th Road East in Saltfleet. There are many very early records being shattered this spring which is keeping our Hamilton Bird Records Committee's requests for documentation a steady job. Some examples being American Golden Plover, Yellow-billed Cuckoo (one at the RBG and another at Upper Paradise and Stone Church in Hamilton), Eastern Wood Pewee (Edgelake Park, Fifty Point), Red-eyed Vireo (Princess Point), Magnolia Warbler (earlyish Tuck Creek). Our prettiest highlight of the week was a stunning male Prairie Warbler found at Bronte Bluffs on Wednesday. And the oddity of the week comes from Lakeside Park where a female Evening Grosbeak was photographed. The woodlots were very busy this week, here's a rundown of what was seen. A Green Heron was flushed in the Hendrie Valley mid week. Red-headed Woodpeckers were reported in several locations, two in a woodlot off Hillview, a second hand report of one on Powerline Road in Saltfleet, one at Bronte Bluffs and another at Lakeside Park in Mississauga. Other migrants noted were Least Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird (Shoreacres/Paletta, along the north banks of the Grand in Caledonia), Yellow-throated Vireo (at least 3 at Edgelake, one at Shoreacres), Blue-headed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Veery, Wood Thrush (Edgelake), Gray Catbird, Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush (last Saturday in Hendrie Valley), Northern Waterthrush, Golden-winged Warbler (on trail off Scenic Drive on the west mountain), Blue-winged Warbler (Edgelake), Black-and-white (in numbers), Tennessee (Shoreacres/Paletta), Nashville, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart (trail off Scenic Drive, Bronte Bluffs), Cape Mary Warbler, Northern Paula, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Palm, Yellow-rumped (in numbers), Black-throated Green Warbler, Scarlet Tanager (Edgelake), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (multiples at feeders), Indigo Bunting, Bobolink (up in the fields on Grimsby Road 15), Rusty Blackbird (Edgelake), Orchard Oriole (Burlington Beach strip) and Purple Finch (Sherwood). For clarity, Edgelake Park is in Stoney Creek, Sherwood Forest Park in Oakville, Bronte Bluffs Oakville, Shoreacres/Paletta Burlington, Lakeside Park Mississauga, Saddington Park Mississauga. A quick Google search will provide you with general locations. If you're having trouble, email and I will try to assist. Shorebirds are in the news this week with the best habitat being the fields up on 5th Road East between Powerline and Green Mountain Road. Here this week in addition to the American Golden-Plover and Long-billed Dowitcher, Spotted, Solitary, Least and Pectoral Sandpipers, Dunlin and Wilson's Snipe have been noted. Lots of fields to check up here with this ongoing rain. A Dunlin was also present at Flamborough Downs. A hardy birder yesterday did a fall style lake watch with a pay out yesterday. Birds seen include a good number of Forster's Terns (20 tough to get in Hamilton) among the Common Terns. Red-throated Loons, Willets, Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Thayer's Gull were other highlights. Last weekend, Red-throated and Common Loons could be seen on the water and a flyby of four Little Gulls was a highlight. In the odds and sods, Great Egrets were spotted in Congestion Pond (between Guelph Line and Brant on North Service Road Burlington), another past Bronte Bluffs. Bonaparte's Gulls were seen at Windermere Basin. There have been two reports of possible American White Pelicans on Cootes this week so any hard evidence would be welcome, I am sure that one will pass through at some point).Common Ravens are getting all the more Common here with birds seen at 5th Road East and another pair at 10th Road East in Saltfleet. Tufted Titmouse is an interesting continuing find at Bronte Bluffs with a high probability of a nesting situation). Lastly, Dark-eyed Juncos are still being reported at feeders in the area, getting late for these little beasts but who can blame them for staying? There's lots to look for this time of year. If I have missed your sighting, don't be offended, it takes hours to write this report and occasionally I miss a sighting or two. Keep sending your sightings in, it's an exciting time of year and once this rain leaves, the birds will move again. Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
